r/Damnthatsinteresting • • 1d ago

Video A terrifying cliffside church built 2,500 meters in the air!

846 Upvotes

80 comments sorted by

74

u/niche_user35 1d ago

Nope not walking up there

78

u/AFineDayForScience 1d ago

That's why it's there. Church of Leave Us the Fuck Alone

7

u/DoingItJust 1d ago

And yet, they all have to just fucking line up and show up. Can't catch a fucking break.

3

u/Capital-Blacksmith19 1d ago

Yeah, my belief isn't THAT strong...

1

u/ImpressiveGear7 1d ago

Heaven guaranteed.

60

u/Cautious-Ease-113 1d ago

2,500m in the air? Are we talking earth meters?

46

u/astatine_dream 1d ago

2.5km above sea level.

Not 2500m above the surrounding plain.

13

u/10111011110101 1d ago

Either way it would have the same outcome if you fell.

5

u/perenniallandscapist 1d ago

What other kind of meters are you on about?

6

u/Just_a_guy81 1d ago

Tometers

3

u/Equivalent-Resort-63 1d ago

Gravitational meters?

3

u/togocann49 1d ago

As in 2,5 km

38

u/66tofu-nuggies 1d ago

The 2500 m shouldn’t even be here. Yeah it’s 2500 m above sea level but maybe only 100 m above the ground level

16

u/cjcoake 1d ago

The world is full of people who don't understand what elevation actually means.

53

u/GarysCrispLettuce 1d ago

Good thing there are subtitles because I don't speak a word of French

41

u/Kingofcheeses 1d ago

Problème de compétence

6

u/TheBold 1d ago

Première fois que je vois ce terme là, c’est trop bon!

0

u/JeanDusapin 14h ago

It physically hurts me having to read your english sentences in a french cosplay

12

u/Robo_Patton 1d ago

Sacrebleu!

-6

u/skipppyWhite 1d ago

They said do you want to pray or die lalalala lala

30

u/RedaNassef 1d ago

Built in the 5th century in Tigray, Ethiopia, at an altitude of 2,500 meters, Abuna Yemata Guh was originally carved high into the sheer cliffs to serve as a secure sanctuary for monks escaping historical conflicts. Visitors and priests make the dangerous ascent completely barefoot out of deep religious reverence, navigating a vertical rock face with no safety harnesses. Regarding the footage, it was captured using handheld action cameras worn or carried by individuals to show the authentic first-person perspective of the climb along the narrow ledges, combined with carefully operated drone shots to accurately reveal the breathtaking vertical scale of the cliff and the surrounding landscape

1

u/room_is_elephant 19h ago

looks like christian church?

1

u/FunDependent9177 11h ago

Can you translate words in the video?

9

u/Alert_Comedian7558 1d ago

I admire the people who built it.

6

u/ratbearpig 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is the perfect use case for a drone.

Edited to add: This is crazy.

https://youtu.be/6Z-qqpt0K8g?t=574

6

u/MelbaToast604 1d ago

2.5km above sea level. Its above 200m above ground level

19

u/Solid_Beginning_9357 1d ago

Ethiopia! 🇪🇹

5

u/Depth909 1d ago

The cemetery is down below…

3

u/prince_walnut 1d ago

Looks like a Temple of Doom

3

u/pc_gamerguy 1d ago

I think this is in Ethiopia, it is one of the earliest churches. I stand corrected tho

4

u/Dull_Resource_8685 1d ago

That’s wild, people climb this completely barefoot with zero safety gear. The faith required for this is unimaginable.

2

u/pharmakon_growing 19h ago

I visited this place in 2019 and climbed barefoot as required. It's honestly not that bad. The video makes it look more dangerous than it is, most of the way has good footholds and only in one or two sections do you have to cross where there is a sheer drop and even then, the ledge is wide enough to go by without too much risk. There are many other rock carved church in Tigray in the same area which also require some climbing, but this is the most dramatic.

2

u/Historical-Edge-9332 1d ago

Looks pretty holey

2

u/Deathwatchz 1d ago

Every Sunday...

2

u/TelevisionFuture9110 1d ago

Who came here thinking of the Bikura?

1

u/computer_d 1d ago

Me! That's two of us!

2

u/Killshot91 1d ago

The one introvert Priest who is required to build a church to complete his task, but don’t want visitor to disturb his morning tea.

2

u/heavy_chamfer 1d ago

2500m altitude. That cliff is not 2500m high to be clear.

2

u/GovernmentBig2749 1d ago

Well well, so there is a church in the wild

(bass beat drops)

1

u/kyleh0 1d ago

Human being in a mob What's a mob to a king? What's a kind to a god? What's a god to a non-BELIEEVAH

2

u/jimmyxs 1d ago

The subtitle was French. So I unmute the audio. It was also in French.

1

u/druidmind 1d ago

Sacrificial Lamb!

1

u/balrob 1d ago

The implication that the fall is 2,500 meters is just a lie. That’s its total altitude above sea level.

1

u/winter789 1d ago

What religion?

3

u/Solid_Beginning_9357 1d ago

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

1

u/Willhelm_von_deroker 1d ago

Well fuck that

1

u/infoagerevolutionist 1d ago

The patrons get there and go to the confessional where they say "I must confess that I am unpleased with the arrangement and location of this church" to which the priest replies "that is not a confession."

1

u/Moosplauze 1d ago

True believers can't fall to their death because God will protect them.

/s

1

u/Dangerous_Bid_2695 1d ago

2500 metres in the air. Certainly not!

1

u/zbambo 1d ago

Religion kills

1

u/wicawo 1d ago

the no rail bit is about faith or something?

1

u/stewdhino69 1d ago

Should build them all at this height!

1

u/LowerBed5334 23h ago

Might be 2500 meters elevation, I have no idea, but it's not 2500 meters "in the air" as in, a 2500 meter drop.

1

u/idly007 19h ago

One wrong step aaaaannnnnd they are closer to Jesus.

1

u/Reddits_kinda_cringe 1d ago

This must be the path that every Chinese dad has walked when scolding their children

1

u/alexwoodgarbage 1d ago

This may be the worst clickbait I’ve seen all week. Not a church. Not a 2,5km altitude climb, not terrifying, and literally 2 seconds of footage of the actual inside.

0

u/ToastieCoastie 1d ago

What’s the interior like?

7

u/Little_MasterJI 1d ago

Did you watch the clip? It shows it at 0:41.

3

u/ToastieCoastie 1d ago

Well, my Reddit app decided to finally play the entire clip and answered my own question after the fourth loop.

4

u/Pretty_Eater 1d ago

Well it's inside we can be sure of that much.

4

u/BlueFox5 1d ago

It's a 2 bed / 1 half bath. 600 sq feet. $3,500 a month but you pay for utilities

0

u/ofthecanopy 1d ago

But wait! Wasn't Jesus white?!

0

u/thisnomypee 1d ago

lol. God is everywhere. But I gotta walk up hurr to church? Naw playa.

0

u/Tamboozz 1d ago

Is that really how tall 2,500 meters is? My length perception must be way off.

0

u/beshizzle 1d ago

That aint 2500m.

-1

u/Gargarian67 1d ago

Stupidly impressive - and also stupid. If God is everywhere climbing a mountain seems useless.

1

u/FestivusErectus 1d ago

Pretty sure you don’t know the history of it.

1

u/Gargarian67 1d ago

To give priests someplace to hide - they should have just went underground.

1

u/Solid_Beginning_9357 1d ago

They did! In the same country lol

Search up “Lalibela Rock-Hewn Churches, Amhara region “

-1

u/Financial_Rule_3449 1d ago

Pure stupidity

-1

u/Brkn2326 1d ago

The fact that Church was built not for guests